菩薩從兜術天降神母胎說廣普經 2

English (machine translation) 2

Language: English

2.1

Translated by the Śramaṇa Zhu Fonian of Liangzhou under the Later Qin

At that time, the Bhagavat, about to enter the realm of parinirvāṇa without remainder, assembled the bodhisattvas of great supernormal powers and virtue, and by supernormal transformations preached the inconceivable Dharma: "Now, may I not conjure up seven-jeweled trees to deliver those who are submerged in the long flow of birth and death forever, causing them to attain liberation?" He then entered the formless samādhi of vaidūrya absorption, and to the east, sixty-four billion Ganges-sands of lands away from this Sahā World, conjured up seven-jeweled trees filling them entirely. On each of these jeweled trees—trunks, nodes, branches, boughs, leaves, and fruits—there were each seven-jeweled palaces. In the palaces were buddhas, and each buddha preached the four impermanent dharmas. In the rear gardens and bathing ponds, flocks of birds gathered, sporting therein with pleasure hard to surpass. In the waters of the ponds grew utpala lotuses, sugandhika flowers, and magandhika flowers; on the dry land grew campaka flowers, sumanā flowers, ox-head sandalwood, pounded incense, powdered incense, and divine silks, banners, and canopies hung suspended in the empty sky. At that time, the king of the wind spirits, named "According to Will", released a great fragrant wind that blew upon the leaves of the seven-jeweled trees. Pliant and fragrant, the branches and leaves clashed against one another, all spontaneously emitting eight kinds of sounds: "Excellent! Emitting great light, the Tathāgata's eight kinds of voices are about to deliver those not yet delivered. Who has manifested this auspicious sign? Formerly I did not hear this, nor did I see this; the characteristics of arising and ceasing are impermanent—could this be anything other than an illusion?" At that time, from within the seven-jeweled palaces upon the tree leaves, all the Tathāgatas, Arhats, and Samyaksambuddhas produced great voices, expounding the inconceivable and rarely encountered Dharma, intending to expound the adornment of all buddha-lands in the eighth ground: "Just as a person wishing to view the waters of the great ocean, being a hundred yojanas away from the ocean, sees no living trees, and upon encountering floodwaters tastes them and knows the ocean is still far away; he immediately prepares the equipment to enter the ocean, and seeing no forms, his mindful absorption is like space, and only then reaches the ocean shore, adorning his own person with a fearless mind: 'Excellent, O Great Sage! What I sought, I have now obtained.' Rejoicing and delighting in it, his mind knows no fatigue, and he immediately renounces all his provisions and enters entirely into the ocean, all appearing before him in accordance with his original vow. The bodhisattva-mahāsattva is also like this: able to sever [defilements] from the first stage to the sixth stage, exhausting the fetters of sentient beings forever without remainder, [he thinks:] 'That I shall now become a buddha is certain beyond doubt.' This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva adorning the buddha-tree within the womb."

2.4

"Furthermore, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva wishes to adorn his bodily marks and fully possess the thirty-two marks of a great man—are they real or not? From crown to feet: on his feet are thousand-spoked wheels; the wheels have a thousand spokes; the spokes have a thousand marks; the marks possess the six perfections without limit.

2.5

"As for the mark of the invisible crown that is accomplished, through destroying the mountain of arrogance he attains the mark of the uṣṇīṣa.

2.6

"Through countless asaṃkhyeya eons of not committing sexual misconduct, I attained as a karmic retribution the mark of the sheath-concealed penis. The mark of the sheath-concealed penis destroys false views, radiating light from the mark that fills Ganges-sands of lands across the ten directions. In each light there are transformation buddhas, and each transformation buddha sits upon a high seven-jeweled seat, producing a great voice to expound the six perfections without limit, just as all Tathāgatas constantly preach: suffering, accumulation, cessation, the path; giving, morality, patience, vigor, meditation, and prajñāpāramitā; skillful means to thoroughly comprehend all dharmas; emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, immeasurable emptiness, internal emptiness, external emptiness, supreme emptiness, conditioned emptiness, emptiness of characteristics, emptiness of retribution, emptiness of extinguishing the three calamities, emptiness of the retribution of the three knowledges, emptiness of the three wisdoms, emptiness of the three penetrations, emptiness of the three equalities, emptiness of the three times, emptiness of the threefold dharmakāya, emptiness of the quiescent cessation of the three realms, emptiness of the past, future, and present, and emptiness of own-characteristic. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mark resulting from the retribution of not committing sexual misconduct.

2.7

"Through asaṃkhyeya eons of constantly cultivating purity of speech—not hearing from that side and speaking to this side, nor hearing from this side and speaking to that side—I attained the mark of the broad and long tongue. Filling asaṃkhyeya Ganges-sands of lands across the ten directions, it emits light from the mark of the tongue; in each light there are transformation buddhas, and each transformation buddha sits upon a seven-jeweled seat, expounding with pure voice immeasurable verbal actions, true deeds of pure retribution, fulfilling the four fearlessnesses, understanding that all dharmas have neither coming nor going, pure in sound, having crossed the fearful ground of birth and death without hindrance, discerning each sound of sentient beings, expounding immeasurable wisdom and eloquence, crossing the abyss of the five destinies with dharma after dharma accomplished, adorning himself with the nine liberations, fully endowed with the ten powers, empty in nature and formless, indestructible, so that those who hear the Dharma all believe and understand. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's retribution of the mark of the tongue from purity of speech.

2.8

"Through countless asaṃkhyeya eons, I attained the mark of voice, which fills the trichiliocosm, pliant, harmonious, and elegant, what is spoken being never coarse, its utterance accomplished without receiving it from another, its sound pleasing and satisfying to all. Within this voice are also countless pure teachings, just as all Tathāgatas constantly preach: the twelve links of dependent origination, the activities of ignorance in birth and death; contemplating one's own body, contemplating another's body, contemplating internal and external bodies; knowing when the breath is long, knowing when the breath is short; transforming those sentient beings so that they skip stages to attain realization yet do not abide in realization. Emitting light from the mark of voice, in each light there are transformation buddhas, and each transformation buddha sits upon a high seven-jeweled seat, universally preaching immeasurable Dharma gates to sentient beings. Their minds head toward liberation through emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, thoroughly contemplating all dharmas as completely non-existent, constantly using the four immeasurables—benevolence, compassion, joy, and equanimity—the four dhyānas, the four truths, and the dharmas of multiple wisdoms, attaining the dhāraṇī Dharma gate, the swift Dharma gate, the responsive-sound Dharma gate, and the eloquence Dharma gate, with immeasurable Dharma gates constantly manifesting before them; their minds constantly disporting in immeasurable hundreds of thousands of samādhis. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's mark of voice.

2.9

"Through countless asaṃkhyeya eons, I constantly cultivated purity of mind: thoughts single-minded and upright, conduct endowed with shame and conscience, holding the mind in one direction without other divergent thoughts, wholly free of defilement. If someone insulted me, I gave rise to no grief; if someone praised me, I did not take joy in it, my mind unshifting, my conduct steadfast and unshakable as the earth. Serving all buddhas through countless eons, preaching the subtle and wondrous Dharma to all sentient beings, my conduct unfeigned, directed wholly toward the path. Wherever there were Buddha, Dharma, and Saṃgha, I would go in person to transform beings, lecturing on and discussing immeasurable dhāraṇī Dharma gates—such discussions being discussions of giving, discussions of morality, discussions of rebirth in heaven, that desire is impure, and that nirvāṇa is bliss—guiding sentient beings to enter meditative absorption and samādhi, analyzing duḥkhasatya, leaving behind the four bondages, eliminating the dharmas of accumulation, extinguishing major fetters, purifying mixtures via the path, not giving rise to dharmas [yet possessing] forbearance, abiding in non-retrogression, and attaining pure contemplation. Knowing the thoughts in the minds of those sentient beings, I opened up and transformed them according to their kinds so that they attained the fruit of the path, just as newly made white cotton cloth easily takes dye into color. Constantly restraining myself and not mocking the faults of others, constantly delighting in quietude and not dwelling in confusion and clamor, entering the assembly of monks with deportment complete, if entering dhyāna concentration, fixing the mind on luminosity, walking in meditation without laxity or indolence, able to roar the lion's roar amid the great assembly, analyzing the nature of emptiness as completely non-existent. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's gate of pure mind.

2.10

"Through countless asaṃkhyeya eons, I cultivated dhāraṇī Dharma gates that are indestructible: hearing one and obtaining a hundred, hearing a hundred and obtaining a thousand, hearing a thousand and obtaining ten thousand; the meanings of sentences and the meanings of letters spoken by all buddhas are all retained in dhāraṇī and never forgotten. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's accomplishment of the dhāraṇī Dharma gate.

2.11

"Through countless asaṃkhyeya eons, I constantly cultivated the contemplative practice of impermanence: that all dharmas ultimately return to impermanence, that what arises has cessation; flourishing the joy of the Dharma and purifying buddha-lands everywhere; what is spoken is truthful, remembering on my own the places experienced in past lives, preaching the Dharma to transform beings with a steadfast mind and consciousness, with supernormal feet and fearlessness that are inconceivable; accumulating all austerities through countless eons, the vows made never contradicting the original practice, disporting in all dharmas with sovereignty and unhindered freedom. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's accomplishment of the dhāraṇī Dharma gate.

2.12

"Through countless asaṃkhyeya eons, I cultivated the supernormal knowledge of the divine eye, knowing universally the kinds of sentient beings in the ten directions: those suited for practices of emptiness and those not suited for practices of emptiness; those with concentrated minds and those without concentrated minds; those with distracted minds and those without distracted minds; those with vajra resolve and those without vajra resolve; those with meditative concentration and those without meditative concentration; the realm of devas, the realm of humans, the realm of hungry ghosts, the realm of animals, and the realm of hells—with the divine eye, seeing all and knowing all. Seeing these sentient beings destined for nirvāṇa with remainder and nirvāṇa without remainder, and also knowing if these sentient beings attain nirvāṇa in the antarābhava, knowing all of it completely; knowing that this sentient being is heading toward srotāpanna and attains the fruit of srotāpanna, is heading toward sakṛdāgāmin and attains the fruit of sakṛdāgāmin, is heading toward anāgāmin and attains the fruit of anāgāmin, is heading toward arhat and attains the fruit of arhat, is heading toward pratyekabuddha and attains the fruit of pratyekabuddha; and also observing sentient beings renouncing household life in austerity without abandoning their original vows, shaving hair and beard, wearing Dharma robes on their bodies, entering the samādhi of the lion's stride, beneath the king of trees contemplating and viewing the tree, for one day, two days, up to seven days; or one year, two years, up to seven years; or one eon, two eons, up to seven eons. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's accomplishment of the supernormal knowledge of the divine eye."

2.13

"For countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas I have cultivated the divine faculty of hearing, hearing everywhere the actions and retributions of sentient beings in the ten directions: dark actions have dark retributions, white actions have white retributions, neither-dark-nor-white actions have [their] retributions, contaminated actions have contaminated retributions, and uncontaminated actions have uncontaminated retributions. I hear those sentient beings' pure sounds—sounds neither male nor female, supple sounds neither masculine nor feminine, sounds neither long nor short, non-human sounds, brahma-sounds and pure sounds, kalavīra gentle sounds, sounds neither coarse nor subtle. Furthermore, with the divine ear I hear those sentient beings getting rid of defilements and severing bonds, not abiding in conditioned characteristics, not abiding in unconditioned characteristics, not abiding in characteristics of the past, future, or present, abiding yet not abiding, not abiding yet not non-abiding, with no 'I' or 'self' abiding, not abiding yet not non-abiding, those who attain buddhahood and those who do not attain buddhahood, those who attain the Path and those who do not attain the Path, those who are born in heaven and those not born in heaven, those born as humans and those not born as humans, those born as hungry ghosts and those not born as hungry ghosts, those born in the hells and those not born in the hells, and those born as animals and those not born as animals. Distinguishing the five destinies and listening with the divine ear, I hear and know them all completely. This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's accomplishment of the divine faculty of hearing.

2.14

"For countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas I have cultivated the divine faculty of smell, smelling everywhere the immeasurable sentient beings in the ten directions, completely knowing and discerning good fragrances and bad fragrances, coarse fragrances and subtle fragrances, fragrances of fire and fragrances of water, mundane fragrances and noble fragrances, up to the fragrance of the bodhisattva seated beneath the king of trees; the fragrance of morality, the fragrance of samādhi, the fragrance of wisdom, the fragrance of liberation, the fragrance of the knowledge and vision of liberation; the fragrance of boundless great compassion teaching sentient beings; the fragrance of pitying sentient beings; the fragrance of joy and a pleasant countenance; the fragrance of pervasive relinquishment; the fragrance of fearlessness through magical powers; the fragrance of the root of the powers of enlightenment; the fragrance that shatters pride and conceit; the naturally all-pervasive fragrance; the fragrance that adorns the Buddha Path; the fragrance of approaching the three gateways of liberation; the fragrance of supreme mark upon mark; the fragrance of the fruits of clear knowledge and conduct; the fragrance that discerns subtle atoms; the fragrance whose radiance shines from afar; the fragrance that harmonises the gathered assembly; the fragrance of the pure five aggregates; the fragrance of holding sense-spheres without arising; the fragrance of calming and extinguishing all taints; the fragrance of contemplating and extinguishing all taints; the fragrance of hearing the precepts and practicing generosity; the fragrance of modesty, shame, and freedom from arrogance; the fragrance of the supreme teachings of the sages; the fragrance of unimpeded preaching of the Dharma; the fragrance of dispersing relics; the fragrance of sealing the storehouse of the Buddhas; and the inexhaustible fragrance of the seven treasures."

2.15

Thereupon the Bhagavat spoke in verse:

2.16

"The floral fragrances and candana
Produced on Mount Gandhamādana,
And all the fragrances across the three realms,
Are not as supreme as the fragrance of morality.
The fragrance of morality destroys all defilements,
Coming and going, penetrating even the Avīci [hell];
For a non-retrogressing bodhisattva,
The fragrance of nirvāṇa is foremost.
Like a skilled archer
Shooting upwards into empty space:
The force of the arrow not exhausting the void,
It quickly falls back down to earth;
Yet the fragrance of virtue extends endlessly far,
Never to turn back or return.
Now I speak of the fragrance of the Buddha's body—
Morality, samādhi, wisdom, and liberation:
Even through hundreds of thousands of koṭis of kalpas,
One could not exhaust the Buddha's fragrance.
Even if for thousands of myriads of kalpas,
A Buddha were to praise a Buddha's merits,
That Great Sage could not exhaust
The fragrance of moral virtue of the Buddha's body.
By the awe-inspiring Dharma of the Buddhas,
When conferring prophecy upon the one next in succession,
A five-coloured fragrance from his mouth
Ascends up to the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven;
Returning again to the Buddha's place,
It circumambulates the Buddha's body seven times.
All the devas scatter fragrant flowers,
Praising it as unprecedented;
The fragrance of samādhi spreads afar,
Delivering asaṃkhyeyas [of beings]."

2.17

When the Bhagavat had spoken this verse, twelve nayutas of sentient beings in that assembly were awakened in mind and consciousness, and all gave rise to the aspiration, wishing and delighting to be born in the Buddha-land of Accumulated Fragrance.

2.18

"This is called the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's accomplishment of the divine faculty of smell.

2.19

"For countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas I have cultivated the divine faculty of speech, so that the teachings spoken coming and going never stall halfway. Whenever something is spoken, the speech radiates light: lip by lip there is light, tooth by tooth there is light, and tongue by tongue there is light. When the Tathāgata expounds the profound Dharma amidst the great assembly, among all phenomena: The first is named *a*; *a* means non-existence, which has tens of thousands of meanings, and from within those tens of thousands of meanings of non-existence, one meaning of non-existence is taken to deliver immeasurable sentient beings. The second is named *ra*; *ra* means removing defilements, which has tens of thousands of meanings, and from within those tens of thousands of meanings, one meaning of removing defilements is taken to remove the defilements of immeasurable sentient beings. The third is named *paca*; *paca* means ripening of fruit, which has tens of thousands of meanings, and from within those tens of thousands of meanings, one meaning of fruit ripening is taken to make immeasurable sentient beings all ripen their fruits. The fourth is named *na*; *na* means impermanence, which has tens of thousands of meanings, and from within those tens of thousands of meanings, one meaning of impermanence is taken to make immeasurable sentient beings all understand the meaning of impermanence. The fifth is named *ḍha*; *ḍha* means exhaustive cessation, its name being the name of exhaustive cessation; saying it exists is non-existence, saying it is non-existent is also without non-existence; the meaning of exhaustive cessation has tens of thousands of meanings, and from within those tens of thousands of meanings, one meaning of exhaustive cessation is taken to make immeasurable sentient beings attain an understanding of cessation—this is the meaning of *ḍha* as cessation. Immeasurable Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges in the ten directions receive food with deportment: from Jambudvīpa up to the eighteen heavens, all behold the Tathāgata eating. Bodhisattvas from the first abode to the fourth abode see the Tathāgata's body with a throat of lapis lazuli; non-retrogressing bodhisattvas up to the ninth stage see the Devaputra of Swift Agility receive the Tathāgata's food and even carry out Buddha-work in other regions. Such is the retribution of the Tathāgata's divine faculty of speech. When the Tathāgata displays tasting food, he tastes flavor after flavor successively without disturbance of taste, neither hiccuping nor gobbling greedily. When the Bhagavat brings food to his mouth, his mind focuses upon all the sentient beings of the five destinies in the ten directions, wishing them to share equally in this taste, and immediately, as he intends, they are all completely satisfied, just as when a monk attains the nine successive absorptions, his mind is tenderly, exquisitely sated. This is called the purity of the bodhisattva-mahāsattva's faculty of speech.

2.20

"In the past, for countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas, I cultivated the divine faculty of the body, distinguishing perceptions of pure and impure, and of impure and pure within the body: thirty-six impure, foul, and untrue substances—hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, bones, blood, snot, and tears—contemplating them repeatedly; and using the nature of one's own body, one contemplates the bodies of sentient beings as being likewise. I manifested my own body as swollen, bloated, rotting with foul stench, with pus and blood flowing out; or again manifested the body as white bones of ashen color, bluish-bruised color, charred-black color, or of the same color as the earth. When immeasurable sentient beings saw this body, they all gave rise to perceptions of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. Furthermore, I expounded to sentient beings the Dharma of the bodily karmic retributions: 'This body is not a body; what is the body? Distinguishing each part one by one from head to foot, none of it exists at all. Because there is no body, there is no consciousness.' When sentient beings heard this, they contemplated their own bodies as vile and impure, just as the pure gods of the Ābhāsvara Heaven look down and see Jambudvīpa as foul and impure, its noxious vapors rising seventy million li—for this reason, bodhisattvas are not born in the Ābhāsvara Heaven. A bodhisattva possessing the divine faculty of the body enters the vajrasamādhi and crushes his body into dust, each and every speck of dust turning into a transformation Buddha, delivering immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas of kinds of sentient beings; manifesting the physical marks of his body, fire issues from the upper body and water issues from the lower body, fire issues from the lower body and water issues from the upper body, leaping up in the east and sinking down in the west, leaping up in the west and sinking down in the east; displaying the Tathāgata's eighteen miraculous transformations. When all kinds of sentient beings behold the Tathāgata's transformations, they immediately awaken, their numerous fetters are eternally extinguished, and they enter the unconditioned Path. Specks of dust as transformation Buddhas manifest bodies to instruct and transform, delivering immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas of sentient beings. This is the Tathāgata's secret teaching through the body without preaching the Dharma.

2.21

"For countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas I have cultivated the mind-consciousness and accomplished the bodhisattva's magical faculties, gathering the mind into meditative concentration to roam through immeasurable Buddha-lands, returning to the original place in the time it takes a strong man to bend or extend his arm. The bodhisattva of mind-consciousness also enters the apparitional birth, womb birth, moisture birth, and egg birth, displaying inconceivable miraculous transformations to instruct and transform, and in that very place accomplishes the unconditioned Path. The bodhisattva of mind-consciousness is the most supreme and excellent among all magical faculties, not something that pratyekabuddhas or arhats can conceive of. Why is that? Because it is not their sphere."

2.22

Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra, Chapter 5: The Equality of the Three Times

2.23

At that time, in the assembly there was a bodhisattva named Priyadarśana—possessing unimpeded eloquence, having ascended to the ten abodes, and able to retain all the practices of the Tathāgata. He immediately arose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, joined his palms with fingers clasped, went forward and said to the Buddha: "Excellent, Bhagavat! Now hearing this Dharma is unprecedented. Did the past countless Ganges-sands Tathāgatas enter nirvāṇa or not enter nirvāṇa? If they entered nirvāṇa, how are sentient beings of the desire realm to be delivered? If the Tathāgatas do not enter nirvāṇa, in what Buddha-realms do those Tathāgatas abide?"

2.24

The Buddha told Priyadarśana Bodhisattva: "Excellent, excellent! That you are able to roar the lion's roar before the Tathāgata. Listen closely, listen closely, and reflect upon it well! I shall now discern and expound it for you one by one."

2.25

Priyadarśana replied: "Even so, Bhagavat. I wish and delight to hear."

2.26

The Buddha said: "The names and designations of the past Buddhas, Bhagavats, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, are beyond reckoning. Just as sentient beings are born and reborn without ceasing, boundless, limitless, and without beginning, the essential unified mind of the Buddhas is like the realm of empty space. That which is nirvāṇa is precisely sentient beings. Therefore the Tathāgata does not enter nirvāṇa. Why is that? For the sake of sentient beings."

2.27

Priyadarśana Bodhisattva addressed the Buddha: "Have the sentient beings delivered by past tathāgatas, arhats, samyaksambuddhas attained parinirvāṇa, or not attained parinirvāṇa?"

2.28

The Buddha told Priyadarśana Bodhisattva: "What do you think, Priyadarśana? In serving, revering, and making offerings of fragrant flowers, banners, and canopies to the Buddhas through countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas, have you ever seen a Tathāgata enter parinirvāṇa?"

2.29

He replied: "No, [I have not]."

2.30

"What do you think, Priyadarśana? I am named Śākyamuni Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha. Now abiding in the mother's womb, is this nirvāṇa or not nirvāṇa?"

2.31

He replied: "No, it is not, Bhagavat."

2.32

"What do you think, Priyadarśana? When a bodhisattva sentient being receives prediction that he will attain unexcelled, correct, and true enlightenment, is this the true Path or not the true Path?"

2.33

He replied, "This path is not a true path or is a true path. Why is that? There are Buddhas, there is the teaching of the Dharma, and there are manifested transformations seen by sentient beings; for this reason, this path is not the true path. Sentient beings with conditioning conditions are the path; sentient beings in whom conditioning conditions are exhausted are the true path. Sentient beings of the past whose conditioning conditions are exhausted are not the true path in the present. Sentient beings of the present whose conditioning conditions are exhausted are not the true path in the past. Sentient beings of the past and present whose conditioning conditions are exhausted are not the true path in the future. Sentient beings of the future whose conditioning conditions are exhausted are not the true path in the past and present. Why is that? This path is not the true path; sentient beings of the past whose conditioning conditions are exhausted, sentient beings of the present whose conditioning conditions are exhausted, and sentient beings of the future whose conditioning conditions are exhausted are the true path. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas know and perceive it, neither abiding nor entering. Why is that? It is just like the nine conducts being unexhausted. What are the nine conducts? They are superior-superior, superior-middling, superior-inferior; middling-superior, middling-middling, middling-inferior; inferior-superior, inferior-middling, and inferior-inferior. When superior-superior conditions are exhausted while superior-middling conditions are unexhausted, it is not the true path. When superior-middling conditions are exhausted while superior-inferior conditions are unexhausted, it is not the true path. When superior-inferior conditions are exhausted while middling-superior conditions are unexhausted, it is not the true path. When middling-superior conditions are exhausted while middling-middling conditions are unexhausted, it is not the true path. When middling-middling conditions are exhausted while middling-inferior conditions are unexhausted, it is not the true path. When middling-inferior conditions are exhausted while inferior-superior conditions are unexhausted, it is not the true path. When inferior-superior conditions are exhausted while inferior-middling conditions are unexhausted, it is not the true path. When inferior-middling conditions are exhausted while inferior-inferior conditions are unexhausted, it is not the true path. When inferior-inferior conditions are exhausted, it is the true path. With respect to the true nature, bodhisattva-mahāsattvas neither grasp nor abandon, neither abide nor not abide; past, future, and present are equal, the path is equal, nirvāṇa is equal—the single equality without duality. The dharma-nature is equal, the natural mark is equal, sentient beings are equal, defilements are equal, the five aggregates are equal, conditions are equal, and the conduct of ignorance is equal; the conduct of the path is pure, neither one nor two. When conditions of the conduct of desire are exhausted, the conditions of the conduct of form are not yet exhausted; when conditions of the conduct of form are exhausted, the conditions of the conduct of formlessness are not yet exhausted; when conditions of the conduct of formlessness are exhausted, conditions of the conduct of form are exhausted, and conditions of the conduct of the desire realm are exhausted—this is called the bodhisattva's equality, neither one nor two."

2.34

Then the Buddha said to Priyadarśana Bodhisattva, "Do you wish to know whether the Buddha-lands of past Buddhas are extinguished or not extinguished?" Then the Bhagavat immediately entered the fearless emptiness-realm samādhi by his supernatural power, causing the entire assembly to see Śākyamuni's body, quiescent, speechless, and fully endowed with the physical marks. "Bodhisattvas should know that my past bodies were incalculable and immeasurable in number." He then entered the moisture-born realm with his supernatural powers, fully endowed with all the marks, and preached the Dharma to innumerable asaṃkhyeyas of sentient beings possessing moisture-born consciousness, causing those beings of moisture-born consciousness to each attain liberation according to their wishes. Again, by his supernatural powers, he entered among apparitionally born sentient beings, manifesting his bodily form and marks, and preached the Dharma to immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas of sentient beings, causing those beings of apparitional consciousness to each attain liberation according to their wishes. At that time, the Bhagavat entered among sentient beings possessing egg-born consciousness by his supernatural powers, manifesting his bodily form and marks, and preached the Dharma to immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas of sentient beings, causing those sentient beings to each attain liberation according to their wishes. At that time, the Bhagavat again manifested future worlds by his supernatural powers, manifesting his bodily form and marks among humans of the four modes of birth, and preached the Dharma to immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas of sentient beings, causing those sentient beings of the four modes of birth to each attain liberation according to their wishes.

2.35

"Just as I today, dwelling within my mother's womb, speak the rare Dharma of non-retrogression together with the bodhisattvas of supernatural faculties from the ten directions, so too by supernatural faculties do I enter the four modes of birth among gods, enter the four modes of birth among hell-dwellers, the four modes of birth among hungry ghosts, and the four modes of birth among animals. Among the four modes of birth, womb-birth and apparitional birth exhaust defilements swiftly, while moisture-birth and egg-birth exhaust defilements slowly; those of apparitional birth and womb-birth are individuals of sharp faculties, while those of moisture-birth and egg-birth are individuals of dull faculties."

2.36

At that time, the Bhagavat again manifested the Quiescent World by his supernatural powers, causing that great assembly to fully know and see it; nor were there any spoken teachings with the names of suffering, origination, cessation, and path. Why is that? The sentient beings of that land are all individuals of sharp faculties of womb-birth and apparitional birth. The Buddha again manifested the Illumined World below by his supernatural powers, observing that those sentient beings receive, uphold, read, and recite [the teachings], only attaining the fruit of the path after passing through kalpas, knowing that these sentient beings of moisture-birth and egg-birth are individuals of dull faculties. The Buddha again manifested the Deathless Land by his supernatural powers, causing that great assembly to know that those sentient beings do not hear the name of death, knowing that these sentient beings of great compassion and vows are the supreme faculties among sharp faculties. The Buddha again manifested the Untimely-Death Land by his supernatural powers, causing that great assembly to fully know and see it; seeing that among those sentient beings there are those who die untimely because those sentient beings created the root of suffering themselves—their original lifespan was extremely long, but now their lifespan has gradually shortened. The king of that world is named Sorrow-Remover; he strips the skin of dead men to make drums, striking them once every hundred years to make those sentient beings all know the name of death, their lifespan gradually decreasing down to one hundred years, at which time there are those who transcend [it].

2.37

"I now relinquish a lifespan of eighty-four [years] and appear in the world of the five turbidities; womb-birth and apparitional birth are my portion of sharp faculties. You all should know! Life does not remain long; it cannot be made to stay even by the Buddha's supernatural power. This body is like a bubble, its force not lasting long. This body is like mist, constantly confusing human thoughts. This body is like a dream, increasing anger. This body is like an illusion, deceiving and bewildering worldly people. This body is like an echo, seeking a response without form. This body is like a shadow, seen by the eye but impossible to seize. Such a body of mine is extinguished here and will not be born again. What is it that is not born? It is not born again in this Jambudvīpa. Again, in thirty-two hundred billion Buddha-lands of the ten directions, I fill those lands to carry out Buddha-works; this is not something of the past. For this reason, conditioning conditions are exhausted; when conditioning conditions are not exhausted, there is no one who attains nirvāṇa."

2.38

Then Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahāsattva arose from his seat, adjusted his robes, bared his right shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, stepped forward, and addressed the Buddha, saying, "How wonderful, Bhagavat! The worlds are manifold, and sentient beings are not the same; their good and evil actions and retributions are each distinct. When the Tathāgata speaks the Dharma of emptiness and quiescence, what samādhi does he enter that is inconceivable? His majestic supernatural power is stirring and moving, so difficult to fathom! Sentient beings with consciousness can all be easily transformed, but when mountains, rivers, rock walls, and the growing trees, grasses, and shrubs all transform into human forms, are they sentient beings with consciousness or without consciousness?"

2.39

The Buddha said to Maitreya, "Formerly, when you crossed mountains and seas together with me, did you see a ferocious beast that was supposed to eat the flesh of a bodhisattva of the ten abodes?"

2.40

Maitreya addressed the Buddha, saying, "No."

2.41

"Why is that? Even if the trichiliocosm were filled with ferocious beasts wishing to eat the flesh of a bodhisattva, such a thing could not be. Formerly, when I encouraged you as to who could advance first, both you and Mañjuśrī said you could not face it. At that time, using my supernatural power, I revealed the taste of nectar to that hungry beast; keeping my mind resolute, I was able to attain supreme, correct, and complete enlightenment. You spoke of expediently stepping back and staying behind; all of this was teaching and transforming those with consciousness, not teaching and transforming those without consciousness."

2.42

The Buddha said to Maitreya, "Do you not remember that in the ancient past, countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas ago, sixty-two Ganges-sands of Buddha-lands away to the northwest of here, there was a Buddha named Samatā, whose land was named Formless, where he is now present and speaking the Dharma, without pratyekabuddha or śrāvaka vehicles, and without sun, moon, seasons, or number of kalpas? That Buddha's teaching and transformation completely encompass a single Buddha-realm, and the sentient beings of his present realm all attain Buddhahood, never moving to another Buddha's world. What do you think, Maitreya? Should that Buddha be named past, future, or present?"

2.43

Maitreya addressed the Buddha, saying, "He is also past, present, and future. Why is that? Because they all go to that land from various Buddha-lands, and because the sentient beings whose conditions are exhausted all attain deliverance, he is manifest in the present."

2.44

The Buddha said to Maitreya, "Are you now in the present?"

2.45

He replied, "No, Bhagavat! Although there is the name 'present', my practice is not in the present: former practice is past, subsequent practice has not yet arrived, and consciousness, thought, and contemplation—these three matters—are accomplished; therefore, there is no present."

2.46

The Buddha then asked Maitreya, "When the mind has a thought, how many thoughts, how many ideations, and how many consciousnesses are there?"

2.47

Maitreya said, "In the span of clapping the hands or snapping the fingers, there are three billion two hundred million thoughts; thought after thought takes form, and each form has consciousness. The consciousness and thought are extremely subtle and cannot be grasped. The majestic supernatural power of the Buddha enters those subtle consciousnesses and causes them all to attain deliverance; this consciousness is taught and transformed, and is not without consciousness. Furthermore, the subtle consciousness is extremely minute, surpassing even an atom; this atomic consciousness cannot be seen, yet the Tathāgata's majestic supernatural power enters it to teach and transform it, causing all to attain deliverance. Maitreya should know—let there be no doubt—this atomic consciousness also receives the four elements and possesses the four modes of birth. Why is that? Sentient beings are boundless, and boundlessness is also boundless; the Tathāgata is also boundless, and the path is also boundless. When everything is said to exist, existence is also non-existence; there is no realm, no place, no abiding, nor is there anyone who instructs and transforms sentient beings. This is called the direct-and-reverse samādhi. Neither abiding nor not abiding, single mark and markless, unattached and unbound, there is also no reality-limit; cultivating the bodhimanda and purifying the Buddha's realm, the expedient transformations are countless, beyond the reach of the inferior."

2.48

At that time, wishing to dispel Maitreya's doubts, the Bhagavat manifested a physical form that was pliant, a form of which one could never tire, an internally and externally pure form free from blemish or defilement. [He said,] 'For countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas I have cultivated the purity of the eye, unimpeded inside and out, and now I have attained this rūpakāya. Yet the body is also non-body, and form is also non-form. Knowing that the body is empty and that form is empty, both body and form are empty; and for one who knows that both body and form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the non-body is empty and non-form is empty, one knows that both non-body and non-form are empty; and for one who knows that both non-body and non-form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the past body is empty, knowing that past form is empty, one knows that both past body and form are empty; and for one who knows that both past body and form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the future body is empty, knowing that future form is empty, one knows that both future body and form are empty; and for one who knows that both future body and form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the present body is empty, knowing that present form is empty, one knows that both present body and form are empty; and for one who knows that both present body and form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the past non-body is empty, knowing that past non-form is empty, one knows that both past non-body and non-form are empty; and for one who knows that both past non-body and non-form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the future non-body is empty, knowing that future non-form is empty, one knows that both future non-body and non-form are empty; and for one who knows that both future non-body and non-form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the present non-body is empty, knowing that present non-form is empty, one knows that both present non-body and non-form are empty; and for one who knows that both present non-body and non-form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the desire-realm body is empty, knowing that desire-realm form is empty, one knows that both desire-realm body and form are empty; and for one who knows that both desire-realm body and form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the form-realm body is empty, knowing that form-realm form is empty, one knows that both form-realm body and form are empty; and for one who knows that both form-realm body and form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the formless-realm body is empty, knowing that formless-realm form is empty, one knows that both formless-realm body and form are empty; and for one who knows that both formless-realm body and form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the desire-realm non-body is empty, knowing that desire-realm non-form is empty, one knows that both desire-realm non-body and non-form are empty; and for one who knows that both desire-realm non-body and non-form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the form-realm non-body is empty, knowing that form-realm non-form is empty, one knows that both form-realm non-body and non-form are empty; and for one who knows that both form-realm non-body and non-form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the formless-realm non-body is empty, knowing that formless-realm non-form is empty, one knows that both formless-realm non-body and non-form are empty; and for one who knows that both formless-realm non-body and non-form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the body of causal conditioning is empty, knowing that the form of causal conditioning is empty, one knows that both the body and form of causal conditioning are empty; and for one who knows that both the body and form of causal conditioning are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the non-body of causal conditioning is empty, knowing that the non-form of causal conditioning is empty, one knows that both the non-body and non-form of causal conditioning are empty; and for one who knows that both the non-body and non-form of causal conditioning are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness.

2.49

'Knowing that the womb-born body is empty, knowing that womb-born form is empty, one knows that both womb-born body and form are empty; and for one who knows that both womb-born body and form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the womb-born non-body is empty, knowing that womb-born non-form is empty, one knows that both womb-born non-body and non-form are empty; and for one who knows that both womb-born non-body and non-form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the apparitionally born body is empty, knowing that apparitionally born form is empty, one knows that both apparitionally born body and form are empty; and for one who knows that both apparitionally born body and form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the apparitionally born non-body is empty, knowing that apparitionally born non-form is empty, one knows that both apparitionally born non-body and non-form are empty; and for one who knows that both apparitionally born non-body and non-form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the moisture-born body is empty, knowing that moisture-born form is empty, one knows that both moisture-born body and form are empty; and for one who knows that both moisture-born body and form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the moisture-born non-body is empty, knowing that moisture-born non-form is empty, one knows that both moisture-born non-body and non-form are empty; and for one who knows that both moisture-born non-body and non-form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the egg-born body is empty, knowing that egg-born form is empty, one knows that both egg-born body and form are empty; and for one who knows that both egg-born body and form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the egg-born non-body is empty, knowing that egg-born non-form is empty, one knows that both egg-born non-body and non-form are empty; and for one who knows that both egg-born non-body and non-form are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness.

2.50

'Knowing that the body of unarrived dhyāna is empty, knowing that the form of unarrived dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the body and form of unarrived dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the body and form of unarrived dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the non-body of unarrived dhyāna is empty, knowing that the non-form of unarrived dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the non-body and non-form of unarrived dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the non-body and non-form of unarrived dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the body of the first dhyāna is empty, knowing that the form of the first dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the body and form of the first dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the body and form of the first dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the non-body of the first dhyāna is empty, knowing that the non-form of the first dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the non-body and non-form of the first dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the non-body and non-form of the first dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the body of the intermediate dhyāna is empty, knowing that the form of the intermediate dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the body and form of the intermediate dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the body and form of the intermediate dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the non-body of the intermediate dhyāna is empty, knowing that the non-form of the intermediate dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the non-body and non-form of the intermediate dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the non-body and non-form of the intermediate dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the body of the second dhyāna is empty, knowing that the form of the second dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the body and form of the second dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the body and form of the second dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the non-body of the second dhyāna is empty, knowing that the non-form of the second dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the non-body and non-form of the second dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the non-body and non-form of the second dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the body of the third dhyāna is empty, knowing that the form of the third dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the body and form of the third dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the body and form of the third dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the non-body of the third dhyāna is empty, knowing that the non-form of the third dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the non-body and non-form of the third dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the non-body and non-form of the third dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the body of the fourth dhyāna is empty, knowing that the form of the fourth dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the body and form of the fourth dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the body and form of the fourth dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness. Knowing that the non-body of the fourth dhyāna is empty, knowing that the non-form of the fourth dhyāna is empty, one knows that both the non-body and non-form of the fourth dhyāna are empty; and for one who knows that both the non-body and non-form of the fourth dhyāna are empty, this emptiness is empty of emptiness.

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菩薩從兜術天降神母胎說廣普經 — Classical Chinese